Managing Anxiety, Stress, and Parenting Under COVID-19

with Lisa Damour, Psychologist & Author
 

Dr. Lisa Damour explains the psychological science key to understanding how stress and anxiety operate, under everyday conditions and at times of heightened concern and disruption. Join us to learn more about: how to keep pressure and tension from reaching toxic levels; how to parent effectively in the current circumstances; and the most reliable strategies for managing ongoing stress.

Parenting in a Pandemic

with Michael G. Thompson,  Psychologist, Author & School Consultant
 

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit families. For almost a year, families have been forced to think about death and safety and the need to talk to their children about these realities.  They are dealing with the loss of regular school, remote learning from home all the while facing threats to their employment and the loss of social supports. Many parents are worried that their children will emerge traumatized from this long disruption. In this webinar, Michael Thompson will address the issues and fears affecting all families and will offer psychologically sound suggestions for steadying their children and themselves in this difficult time.

Speaking to Your Children About Race

with Y. Joy Harris-Smith, Phd, Educator & Author

Parents of children in independent schools share the same commitment to speaking with their children about race, but may also share the same fear that they do not know where to start or how to do this well.  Please join other parents as we hear from Dr. Y. Joy Harris-Smith, a senior lecturer at the Princeton Theological Seminar, who will  help parents to understand: Generation Z-Who are they? verbal, nonverbal and CQ communication, our differences and similarities and why they matter, and an overview of her book: The ABC’s of Diversity, understanding the framework and why the book was written.  Dr.  Harris-Smith will share important suggestions, tips and resources for parents and will provide opportunity for some questions.  We hope you can join this community of caring and committed parents who seek to effectively engage their children in the essential conversations about race. This session is for parents of children of all ages.

The Importance of Executive Function: Helping Them Show What They Know

with Steven Guy, Psychologist & William Benninger, Psychologist 

Parents and teachers are all struggling with ways to support learning and maintain productivity while learning from home. This live and interactive session will focus on understanding the executive/regulatory system, and more importantly, ways to enhance executive functioning to ensure kids learn at their potential while learning from home.

Audience: Faculty and Administrators, K-12

Video is an essential part of a distance learning plan. Not only is video essential to distance learning it is research-based instructional best practice in the age of the Internet. We are teaching a media first generation. A generation who has grown up using video to learn. It's time we take control of this new way of learning and apply it to our current situation and into our future classrooms. This webinar will focus on the research behind creating instructional videos as an educator and why they are an essential piece of any distance learning puzzle. In addition, we will discuss how having students create video is more powerful than any other medium to document learning and  growth. Video Killed the Radio Star and now it's going to kill direct instruction.

Jeff Utecht is an educational consultant who has supported schools in implementing both emergency distance learning as well as sustainable blended-learning environments for over 15 years. In 2011 Jeff was invited to Washington D.C. to work with the State Department in developing distance-learning systems for international schools globally. During the COVID-19 crisis, Jeff supported the State of Washington and over 170 school districts and 10,000 educators in successfully managing emergency distance learning strategies that lead to a long-term blended-learning environment. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until November 30, 2020.

Audience: Faculty, Administrators & Parents (including general education and special education teachers, administrators, and support staff such as school psychologists, OTs, and speech pathologists)  

When thinking about what schools and teachers do, we tend to focus on the content they teach: reading, math, English, history, science, foreign languages, etc. But without executive skills, students’ ability to master that content and to demonstrate mastery is limited. If the pandemic has exposed anything, it has shown both educators and parents that the skills required to execute tasks are integral to learning and can no longer be overlooked. This presentation will briefly review those skills and then focus on how they can be explicitly taught by embedding them in lessons and routines, whether students are being taught in person or remotely.

Dr. Peg Dawson has over 40 years of clinical practice, and has worked with thousands of children and teens who struggle at home and in school. At the center of their struggles are often weak executive skills. Along with her colleague, Dr. Richard Guare, she has written numerous books on this topic for educators, mental health professionals, and parents, among them Smart but Scattered, Smart but Scattered Teens, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, and Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits. Dawson is also a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists, and the International School Psychology Association, and is a recipient of NASP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Price: 
ISACS members: $25.00 
Nonmembers: $50.00 

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until November 30, 2020.

Audience: Faculty and Administrators, Grades 4-12

This webinar will focus on using Google Apps in the classroom with students, grades 4-12. This free educational service encompasses a powerful set of tools that are revolutionizing education. Combining these tools with other free Google products like Google Maps and Google Earth only enhances the learning for students. Join Jeff Utecht, a Google Certified Trainer in a hands-on session providing real lessons you can use in classroom now as we discuss how Google Apps changes the learning environment. From science notebooks to collaborative notes and classroom newspapers we’ll get our hands dirty with what these powerful tools have to offer. Participants will need a Google Account.

Jeff Utecht is an educational consultant who has supported schools in implementing both emergency distance learning as well as sustainable blended-learning environments for over 15 years. In 2011 Jeff was invited to Washington D.C. to work with the State Department in developing distance-learning systems for international schools globally. During the COVID-19 crisis, Jeff supported the State of Washington and over 130 school districts in successfully managing emergency distance learning strategies that lead to a long-term blended-learning environment. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until November 30, 2020.

Audience:  Faculty, Administrators, Trustees & Parents

Amid the largest racial justice uprising in American history, educators are wondering how to address issues of inequity, systemic racism and white privilege, and exploring how these issues play out in school and the broader society. In this webinar, we will discuss the role of systemic racism in education from kindergarten through college, and how inequality of access, implicit racial bias, white privilege, and institutional practices which educators often take for granted, all contribute to racial injustice. We will also explore policies, practices, and procedures that can begin to build more equitable institutions, undermine those biases and provide transformative education for all students.

Tim Wise is among the nation’s most prominent anti-racism educators and authors. He has spent the past 25 years speaking to audiences in all 50 states, on over 1500 college and high school campuses, at hundreds of professional and academic conferences, to dozens of corporations, and to community groups across the country about issues of systemic racism and methods for dismantling racial inequity in their institutions.  Wise is the author of nine books, including his forthcoming essay collection, Dispatches from the Race War, due out in December. Other books include Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority and his highly acclaimed memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son. Named one of “25 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World,” by Utne Reader, Wise has contributed chapters or essays to over 30 additional books and his writings are taught in colleges and universities across the nation.  Wise appears regularly on CNN and MSNBC and has appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and Nightline, as well as CBS Sunday Morning and 48 Hours. He graduated from Tulane University and received antiracism training from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond in New Orleans.

10/28 Webinar Registration Fee:
ISACS members: $50.00 per school
Nonmembers: $75.00 per school

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until December 31, 2020.

Audience:  Faculty & Administrators, Middle & Upper School

In the last six months our schools have faced incredible challenges: responding to safe school opening, the pandemic, and the national calls for racial justice and equity. We are just weeks away from one of the most contentious elections in recent memory and many school leaders are putting plans in place to help their communities navigate the election season during this polarizing time. Farrington will provide suggestions for what schools can plan in the few weeks before the election, on election day, and after the election. She also will discuss strategies for fostering healthy and respectful dialogue in the classroom and broader school community. 

Kristen Farrington is upper school Chaplain at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA. Previously, Farrington was the executive director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute where she worked closely with the president of the Freedom Forum Institute to fulfill the mission of the center. From 2012 to 2016, Farrington was head of programs and partnerships for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in the United States. Previously, Farrington served as chaplain and department chair of religious studies at St. Paul’s School for Girls in Baltimore and St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson, Md. Prior, she served as clergy in parishes in Florida, California, and New York. For over two decades, Farrington has engaged in interfaith communities as religious leader, educator, dialogue specialist, and consultant.  She is an awarded graduate of Yale Divinity School (M.Div.) and Phi Beta Kappa.

Price: 
ISACS members: $25.00/per school
Nonmembers: $50.00/per school

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until November 30, 2020.

In this powerful talk on identity and community, Julie shares her experience as a Black and biracial woman growing up in white spaces. She found that even as she accomplished so much—graduating from Stanford University and Harvard Law School, working as a corporate lawyer and as Stanford’s first-ever dean of freshmen—she still couldn’t escape the grip racism, discrimination, and microaggressions had on her sense of self. Listen as she shares how she found self-acceptance through the healing power of community. Her story is deeply personal, but its message is universal: people from marginalized communities will recognize echoes of their own experiences, and allies will learn how they can better show up, listen, and advocate for others. All are welcome.

Our faculty found her compelling and uplifting, and her sessions helped to lay the foundation for our work on DEI.

Bryn Roberts, Head of School,
St. Paul Academy and Summit School (MN)

Julie Lythcott-Haims believes in humans and is deeply interested in what gets in our way. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult. Her TED Talk on the subject has more than 5 million views, and she has become a regular contributor with CBS This Morning on parenting. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. A third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, will be out in April 2021. Julie is a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, and she holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. She serves on the board of Common Sense Media, and on the advisory board of LeanIn.Org, and she is a former board member at Foundation for a College Education, Global Citizen Year, The Writers Grotto, and Challenge Success. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner of over thirty years, their young adults, and her mother. 

12/1 Webinar Registration Fee:
ISACS members: $75.00 per school
Nonmembers: $75.00 per school

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until February 28, 2021.

Audience:  Faculty & Administrators 

Navigating the stress of racial conflict or conversation is not easy. Given the recent politics of racial tension in America has led to societal institutions reforming how they conduct their work to address racial injustice. Additionally, the rise in hate has found itself in schools and educators are overwhelmed as to what to do. This talk will discuss ways educators and leaders can understand how to manage racial stress in conversations through racial socialization and literacy in classrooms and relationships.

Howard C. Stevenson, Phd is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Stevenson is the executive director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, designed to promote racial literacy in education, health, community and justice institutions. His most recent research focuses on helping children and adults develop and use assertive coping strategies during face-to-face microaggressions. Key to this racial healing work is the use of culture to reduce in-the-moment threat reactions and increase access to memory, physical mobility, and voice.

Audience: Administrators

Independent schools reported a 90% increase in negative impacts as a result of cybersecurity incidents between 2017 and 2018. While the IT department can be an important ally, this work must be managed by senior leadership and should be part of a broader risk management strategy. Hear about challenges independent schools have experienced and learn to develop a strategy and road map to address these risks.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

This webinar is complimentary for ISACS Members and available upon request by emailing Jacob Isaac at jacob@isacs.org.

Audience: Faculty * Administrators

Schools in their final year (7 or 10) and Year 1 of the accreditation cycle should plan for the crucial work during the first years of the accreditation cycle that results in school improvement. Tasks to complete in Years 1 and 2 of the accreditation cycle include: hosting the kick-off visit, creating the steering committee, conducting the school community survey, reviewing governing body tasks, updating curriculum documentation, and planning for the visiting team. This webinar would be helpful for heads, steering committee chairs, and anyone playing a key role in the accreditation process.

Audience: Faculty * Administrators * Trustees

Learn about socioeconomic (SE) diversity: what it does—and doesn’t mean, and why SE diversity is vital for independent schools, which are historically founded on socioeconomic homogeneity. With an understanding of why and what we’re talking about, we’ll overview guiding principles and practices, issues to consider, and essential questions for schools that don’t just “want to be more diverse,” but are committed to evolving as institutions and communities where socioeconomically diverse students, families, and employees can thrive.

Alison Park is the founder of Blink Consulting. Since 2005, Blink has collaborated with over 100 schools to help create communities where all children, youth, and adults can thrive. In addition, Park has facilitated at numerous conferences, including NAIS’ Annual Conference and PoCC; partnered with educational access and other youth-focused organizations; and served on Park Day School (CA) board of trustees. She currently serves on the Mosaic Project advisory board and the SMART program’s board of directors. Before Blink, she taught for 13 years in the public, non-profit, and private sectors, including Marin Academy and Head-Royce middle school both in CA. She earned her BA at Yale University and two master’s degrees at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators

Many schools are developing Portraits of a Graduate to communicate the enduring, transdisciplinary mindsets and skills with which their students will leave. By developing a Portrait, you can have a tool for internal decision-making and for external communications. How can you best develop a Portrait, communicate it, and use it to move your school forward?  Hear the research, lessons learned, and how the Portrait has been used in different schools. Connections to the work of the Mastery Transcript Consortium also will be explored. Leave with ideas for Portrait development, communications, and implementation into academic programs. This webinar is for all involved in formulating or implementing a Portrait of a Graduate as well as communications officers interested in sharing Portraits with internal and external audiences.

Greg Bamford is associate head of school for strategy and innovation at Charles Wright Academy (WA). He has worked in independent schools as a teacher, coach, administrator, consultant, and parent. He is a co-founder of Leadership+Design, a nonprofit that supports educational innovation and leadership development in schools. He was previously head of school at the Watershed School (CO). During his time at Watershed, enrollment grew by 82%. Bamford and a team of collaborators co-founded the Traverse Conference on real-world learning. He has spoken at education conferences as well as written for Independent School magazine, Net Assets, and The Yield. You can find him on Twitter @gregbamford and his blog at gregbamford.education.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators * Parents * Trustees

Who is allowed to say the N!gga(er) word? What do we do/say when it is said in our classrooms, hallways, practice fields, dinner table, cafeterias, and residence halls? Ignoring the word is not an option anymore. Participants will be challenged to examine their personal and professional histories with the word and consider the ramifications of casual or uninformed usage of a powerful and troublesome word.  

Eddie Moore, Jr., PhD started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege, and leadership trainings and is featured in the film I’m not Racist….Am I? He is the founder and program director for the White Privilege Conference and founded The Privilege Institute. Moore is also co-founder of the online journal Understanding and Dismantling Privilege, coeditor of Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories, The Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys, The Diversity Consultant Cookbook: Preparing for the Challenge, and Teaching Brilliant and Beautiful Black Girls. Previously, Moore served as director of diversity at Brooklyn Friends School (NY) and The Bush School (WA). For more information, visit eddiemoorejr.com.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Administrators (heads of school, division directors, leadership teams, & aspiring leaders)

The ideal leadership team consists of highly talented individuals in their respective areas of expertise. This doesn’t necessarily mean the team functions well together. Egos, blindspots, miscommunications, and divergent styles of leading and working together often get in the way and derail a team from being its best. Explore research-tested tools and insightful strategies to unlock the true potential of a well-functioning team; a team whose best days are ahead.

Edward Hollinger is an educational leader and consultant specializing in transitional leadership, team development, and professional coaching. His work focuses on helping individuals and organizations discover and develop their best professional selves. Hollinger holds a masters in educational leadership from Temple University and is certified in organizational change and leadership coaching from Northwestern University. He has led numerous schools throughout the country as their interim head of school. In addition, he leads workshops and consults with teams using a strength-based approach to building strong teams and establishing best-self practices.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

This webinar has been cancelled. If this webinar should be rescheduled, ISACS will alert the membership. If you have any questions, please contact the ISACS Office at (312) 750-1190.  
 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators * Parents (early childhood & lower school)

One of the greatest treasures is a glimpse into the thought process of innovative thinkers. We pour over Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and are drawn in by Beatrix Potter’s sketchbooks. We are captivated by drawings and doodles of children as their imaginations and what-ifs take shape. Yet, for digital natives, time is seized by electronic apps while crayons, markers, and colored pencils are less present. Children, who once sketched with abandon, now navigate electronic palettes that effortlessly generate a depiction that meets the creator’s expectations. Current research demonstrates that drawing increases memory, engenders complex thinking, regulates emotions, and fosters unexpected connections. Learn how sketching, doodling, and diagramming enhance children’s visual, kinesthetic, and semantic pathways. Be inspired to put a sketchbook and writing implements in children's hands.

Lisa Wright, EdD serves as the director of The Hollingworth Center, a program within the department of curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Under Wright’s leadership the Center develops model programs and offers enriched educational services for graduate students, educators, and children. She is also on the faculty in the department of curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, teaches graduate courses, supervises student teachers, and co-directs an summer institute for teachers and administrators on responsive curriculum and pedagogy. She holds a masters in educational theater from New York University and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. Wright taught in private and public schools at the elementary and secondary levels prior to coming to Teachers College and she presents and consults with education institutions internationally.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty, Administrators & Parents

Damour will cover the key points from her New York Times best-selling book Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls. This webinar will consider new and age-old causes of stress and anxiety in girls--both at the level of individual relationships and broad cultural forces--and offer concrete strategies that adults can implement to protect girls and young women from toxic pressure. This webinar is for parents and all who work with girls ages 10 through young adulthood.

Lisa Damour, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, teacher, speaker, and consultant. Damour writes the monthly adolescence column for the New York Times and is a regular contributor at CBS News. She serves as a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and as the executive director of Laurel School’s Center for Research on Girls. She is the author of two New York Times best-selling books: Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls. For more information, visit drlisadamour.com.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators * Trustees

How can we speak up with courage and confidence as an ally and supporter of equity and inclusion? Have you witnessed an aggression or micro-aggression and felt frozen to speak up? During this webinar, learn key principles, techniques, and talking points for embracing, not avoiding, the difficult conversations around differences, whether with students, community, or colleagues.

Homa Tavangar is the author of the Global Kids activity cards, Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World, and The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners and co-author of the three-book series Take-Action Guide to World Class Learners with Yong Zhao. She is co-founder of the Oneness Lab and consultant for NBC Sprout Channel’s animated children’s program, Nina’s World. Tavangar has served as adviser to organizations including Quiet Revolution, Disney Channel, the Pulitzer Center, National Education Association Global Learning Fellows, and US and international schools and contributed to Edutopia, National Geographic Edu, Huffington Post, PBS, and EducationWeek. She was born in Iran, was raised in the Midwest, and has lived on four continents, and her heritage includes four world religions. For more information, visit growingupglobal.net and onenesslab.com.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators

Executive skills are critical to the acquisition of academic skills, but, more importantly, they are the skills students need to get things done. Skills such as task initiation, sustained attention, working memory, planning, organization, and goal-directed persistence are critical to school success. Some students seem to acquire executive skills naturally, but many students struggle. Dawson, co-author of the books, Smart but Scattered and Smart but Scattered Teens, will provide an overview of these essential skills and will suggest three strategies teachers can use to help students of all ages grow their executive skills. This webinar is for K-12.

In over 40 years of clinical practice, Dr. Peg Dawson has worked with thousands of children and teens who struggle at home and in school. At the center of their struggles are often weak executive skills. Along with her colleague, Dr. Richard Guare, she has written numerous books on this topic for educators, mental health professionals, and parents, among them Smart but Scattered, Smart but Scattered Teens, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, and Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits. Dawson is also a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists, and the International School Psychology Association, and is a recipient of NASP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

As of February 11, this webinar has been CANCELLED. All registered schools have been contacted via email by ISACS. We have automatically transferred your 2/11/2020 registration to the 3/12/2020 webinar. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Zeitlin at karen@isacs.org. 

Audience: Heads of School * Trustees

What’s moving and shaking in independent schools in the ISACS region? Raise your awareness of current trends and hot topics in peer schools. Take away a list of readings.

Claudia Daggett joined ISACS as executive director in 2014 and, in this role, frequently serves as counsel to heads and board chairs. She began her independent school career as a teacher at The Prairie School (WI) and has served in a variety of leadership roles including head of school at Friends Academy (MA), executive director of the Elementary School Heads Association, and independent school consultant with Gregory Floyd & Associates. She has contributed articles to The Trustees' Letter and The Heads' Letter and a chapter to the latest edition of the NAIS Head Search Handbook. In 2018, she earned a governance consultant certificate from BoardSource.

Please note the recording of this webinar will be available via a password protected link until June 30, 2020. Did you miss the live webinar but still want to access the recording? Just complete registration and ISACS will send you an email with details on how to access the recording. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

As of January 9, this webinar has been CANCELLED. All registered schools have been contacted via email by ISACS. If you have any questions, please contact ISACS at (312) 750-1190. We regret the inconvenience and hope to offer this content at a future date.

Audience: Faculty * Administrators * Parents (early childhood & lower school)

Friendships are part of the golden stuff of childhood and the steppingstones into meaningful relationships in adulthood. Join this webinar for a journey through the developmental stages of friendships, the role of the parent in supporting children through what can often manifest challenges, and how to have important conversations with children as they navigate their growing social world. Books that teachers can share with children to spur thoughtful reflections will be highlighted. 

Lisa Wright, EdD serves as the director of The Hollingworth Center, a program within the department of curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Under Wright’s leadership the Center develops model programs and offers enriched educational services for graduate students, educators, and children. She is also on the faculty in the department of curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, teaches graduate courses, supervises student teachers, and co-directs an summer institute for teachers and administrators on responsive curriculum and pedagogy. She holds a masters in educational theater from New York University and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. Wright taught in private and public schools at the elementary and secondary levels prior to coming to Teachers College and she presents and consults with education institutions internationally.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators

Do you routinely offer anxious students more time on their assignments? How can students best use a calming space in a classroom? This webinar will offer five strategies that help all students develop critical skills and will describe the five most common traps schools fall into when attempting to help anxious students. This webinar is for teachers, counselors, psychologists, administrators, and special educators.

Lynn Lyons, LICSW is an internationally recognized psychotherapist, author, and speaker with a special interest in interrupting the generational patterns of anxiety in families. Her skill-based approach to anxiety focuses on the need to teach families about HOW anxiety works and what families can do to pull members out of the powerful “anxiety cult” that demands obedience to its need for certainty and comfort.  Lyons is the co-author with Reid Wilson of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parentsand the companion book for kids Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids. She is the author of Using Hypnosis with Children: Creating and Delivering Effective Interventions and has multiple online programs for parents and children. She maintains a private practice in Concord, NH where she sees families whenever she’s not on the road teaching.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Update as of 3/11/2020
This webinar is being postponed. All registrants received an email from ISACS regarding the postponement. A new date/time will be shared soon and communicated to registrants and members. ISACS will be hosting a complimentary webinar with Brian Garrett of Schwartz Hannum on 3/12/2020. All member schools will receive an email about registration for that webinar on 3/11/2020. If you are interested in additional information or have any questions, contact Karen Zeitlin, karen@isacs.org.

This webinar is being offered in place of the February 11 webinar "Trends in the ISACS region: Six Highlights for Boards" with Claudia Daggett. If you were registered for the 2/11 webinar, your registration was automatically transferred to this webinar.  If you have any questions, please contact Karen Zeitlin at karen@isacs.org.

 Audience: Heads of School * Trustees

Inflection points are a time in the life of an organization when its fundamentals are about to change. As the pace of change quickens, there are a number of emerging trends that will disrupt the status quo of education and provide both challenge and opportunity for schools. We will explore nine drivers of change and the likely impacts on schools, and suggest how boards can get ahead of change to ensure long-term success.

Donna Orem was named president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in November 2016 after serving as interim president since November 2015. Orem served as the chief operating officer for NAIS for 11 years before becoming president. She joined NAIS in 1998 as the vice president for educational leadership, later becoming the vice president for strategic initiatives and research. Prior to joining NAIS, she worked for 15 years at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and she also served as associate director for The American Association of University Women. Orem is the co-author of the NAIS Trustee Handbook, 10^th edition, published in 2015 and is the author of numerous other books and articles. She holds a BA in English from St. Joseph's University (PA) and attended graduate school at the University of Maryland School of Journalism.  

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Please note the recording of this webinar will be available via a password protected link until June 30, 2020. Did you miss the live webinar but still want to access the recording? Just complete registration and ISACS will send you an email with details on how to access the recording. 

Update as of 3/16/2020
This webinar with Donna Orem has been rescheduled from 3/12/2020 to 4/15/2020. Registrations have been automatically transferred to 4/15/2020 and registered schools will be notified by email. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Zeitlin at karen@isacs.org. 

This webinar is being offered in place of the February 11 webinar "Trends in the ISACS region: Six Highlights for Boards" with Claudia Daggett. If you were registered for the 2/11 webinar, your registration was automatically transferred to this webinar.  If you have any questions, please contact Karen Zeitlin at karen@isacs.org.

 Audience: Heads of School * Trustees

Inflection points are a time in the life of an organization when its fundamentals are about to change. As the pace of change quickens, there are a number of emerging trends that will disrupt the status quo of education and provide both challenge and opportunity for schools. We will explore nine drivers of change and the likely impacts on schools, and suggest how boards can get ahead of change to ensure long-term success.

Donna Orem was named president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in November 2016 after serving as interim president since November 2015. Orem served as the chief operating officer for NAIS for 11 years before becoming president. She joined NAIS in 1998 as the vice president for educational leadership, later becoming the vice president for strategic initiatives and research. Prior to joining NAIS, she worked for 15 years at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and she also served as associate director for The American Association of University Women. Orem is the co-author of the NAIS Trustee Handbook, 10^th edition, published in 2015 and is the author of numerous other books and articles. She holds a BA in English from St. Joseph's University (PA) and attended graduate school at the University of Maryland School of Journalism.  

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Please note the recording of this webinar will be available via a password protected link until June 30, 2020. Did you miss the live webinar but still want to access the recording? Just complete registration and ISACS will send you an email with details on how to access the recording. 

Audience:  Administrators

Learn about the Composite Financial Index (CFI), which is a sophisticated analytical and communication tool that provides a common metric through which schools can view the complex picture of financial health. The CFI offers unified language to use when discussing financial information and sustainability with institutional leaders. Used in higher education, the CFI has been adopted for use by NBOA and NAIS as the measure of financial health. Be introduced to the CFI's conceptual framework, learn implications of specific scores and the resulting action the model suggests, and gain insights into the application of the measurements used to assess a school’s financial health.

Phil Tahey, CPA is a consultant to higher education institutions with almost 40 years of experience and service. He assists boards and finance committees in financial strategy, financial planning and metrics, and financial reporting processes. He also assists institutions in their business processes, IT systems, grants management, debt management, and accounting and finance areas. He is a retired partner from KPMG LLP, having served more than 100 colleges and universities as an auditor and consultant. He also served for a number of years as Controller at Johns Hopkins University. Tahey has co-authored several editions of Strategic Financial Analysis for Higher Education: Identifying, Measuring & Reporting Financial Risks, 7th Edition and its Update (2016), which is the source publication for the Composite Financial Index (CFI). He is also a co-author of Bridging the Strategic Gap: Toward Effective Finance Committees. He is a frequent speaker at NACUBO, NBOA, NAIS, and other association meetings.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Faculty, Administrators, Parents & Trustees

Join Shawn Achor for an engaging conversation about how our potential is not limited by what we alone can achieve. Instead, how potential is determined by how we complement, contribute to, and benefit from the abilities and achievements of people around us. Taken from his latest book, Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises our Achievement, Happiness and Well-being, Achor will walk us through five actionable steps towards achieving our Big Potential to thrive in the modern world.

Shawn Achor is an expert on the connection between happiness and success. His research on mindset made the cover of Harvard Business Review, his TED talk has over 20 million views, and his lecture on PBS has been seen by millions. Achor has worked with Fortune 100 companies, the NFL, the NBA, the Pentagon, and the White House. He is the author of New York Times best-selling books, The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being. Achor’s research has been published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology for work he did at USB in partnership with Yale University to transform how stress impacts the body, and he recently recorded a two-hour interview with Oprah to discuss his mission to bring positive psychology to the world.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Heads of School * Trustees

Consider the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) principles of good practice for independent schools and BoardSource recommendations for effective governance applicable to all non-profits. Explore the inherent challenges and rewards of independent school trusteeship and examine relevant benchmark data. Leave with a series of questions for discussion with fellow trustees for improving the essential work of your board.

Mary Menacho was appointed ISACS Executive Director in 2020. She has served independent schools for over forty years as teacher, middle school director, academic dean, head of school, and association director. She is a certified Leadership Coach and member of the International Federation of Coaches. Mary holds an M.S. in Educational Administration from Santa Clara University and a B. A. in Elementary Education from University of Oregon. Mary has served on independent school boards as trustee and board chair as well as the California Association of Independent Schools Board and chaired their Elementary Board of Standards for accreditation. Mary speaks and writes on leadership and best practices in independent schools.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Please note the recording of this webinar will be available via a password protected link until June 30, 2020. Did you miss the live webinar but still want to access the recording? Just complete registration and ISACS will send you an email with details on how to access the recording. 

Audience: Faculty * Administrators

You can accelerate the effectiveness of anyone new to any role by following a few simple guidelines. Create a plan to introduce new hires to the culture of your school, clarify communication preferences and be clear about expectations, and identify the simple tasks that make a big difference. This webinar is for anyone who has responsibility for a new hire whether that new hire is a teacher, administrator, or support staff. This also will be valuable for anyone who is supervising or leading a person who has stepped into a new role, even if that person has been at the school for years.

Barbara Braham, PhD is an executive coach and organizational development consultant, who works with leaders who want to move their organizations forward, and with individuals who want to realize their potential.  A member of the International Coach Federation, she has earned their highest designation, Master Certified Coach.

Price: 
ISACS members: $65.00 
Nonmembers: $100.00 

Audience: Early Childhood and Lower School Administrators & Faculty

Registration Fee: $25/school. This includes a link to the recording, which will be available password protected for four weeks.

Join this webinar to gain a better understanding of how to collaboratively design, implement, and deliver learning in an online environment for our youngest children as well as consider essential questions as you plan for a new school year.

In this one-hour presentation, Gina and Kathryn will look back at the experience of preparing and delivering developmentally appropriate, authentic, and engaging learning and teaching online. They will reflect and analyze the asynchronous as well as synchronous delivery methods piloted at The School at Columbia University and they will share family feedback reflecting their experiences at home.

Teachers at The School at Columbia University delivered a remote program that honored teachers' educational values, supported families unable to be in school, and maintained active learning for children.

Their planning with teachers has now shifted to the changing context of beginning a school year (rather than ending) with young learners remotely.

·  How do we establish trusting relationships between young students and teachers?
·  How do we build a community between students?
·  How do we assess their understanding in academic content areas in order to design meaningful instruction?

Audience: Faculty & Administrators at all levels

In the school format we are headed into, educators need to become Instructional Designers not Content Curators. This presentation will focus on how K-12 educators can create learning pathways that support learning in and out of the classroom. Leave with examples that are currently being used in classrooms, templates they can implement, and a structure that is research-based as well as reports from students and parents that shows it is actively more engaging.

Jeff Utecht is an educational consultant who has supported schools in implementing both emergency distance learning as well as sustainable blended-learning environments for over 15 years. In 2011 Jeff was invited to Washington D.C. to work with the State Department in developing distance-learning systems for international schools globally. During the COVID-19 crisis, Jeff supported the State of Washington and over 130 school districts in successfully managing emergency distance learning strategies that lead to a long-term blended-learning environment. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Faculty & Administrators at all levels

This presentation will focus on the research-based fundamentals of distance and blended learning that every school and educator needs to know heading into the next school year. This is the same approach that was implemented across Washington state with overwhelming success. Leave this training having a solid understanding of the foundations that need to be in place before learning can happen in distance learning.

Jeff Utecht is an educational consultant who has supported schools in implementing both emergency distance learning as well as sustainable blended-learning environments for over 15 years. In 2011 Jeff was invited to Washington D.C. to work with the State Department in developing distance-learning systems for international schools globally. During the COVID-19 crisis, Jeff supported the State of Washington and over 130 school districts in successfully managing emergency distance learning strategies that lead to a long-term blended-learning environment. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Athletic Directors & Coaches

Born during or after 1996, the young people we are coaching have never known life without the Internet. This "IGen" has been dubbed the first true digital natives, and most learned to operate some form of technology before they could form complete sentences. Today's coaches cite challenges with their student-athlete's short attention spans, inability to accept criticism (even if its constructive), and an almost constant need for reassurance and validation. This interactive presentation was designed as a toolkit for coaches to better understand who Generation Z is, so we can more effectively coach them. Participants will learn facts about our nation's youngest generation, then work collaboratively to navigate 8 challenges posed by the way this Generation is different from any other. In addition, how to talk about the uncertainty with their student-athletes will be addressed.

Betsy Butterick is a “The Coaches’ Coach” & Communication Specialist. As a former coach with experience in DI, DII, DIII and the WNBA Butterick utilizes her unique background with individuals ready to improve and teams of all kinds — from the locker room to the boardroom. As "The Coaches' Coach" she helps coaches do what they’ve yet to do, so they can be who they’ve yet to be. As a communication specialist, Butterick assists individuals in all facets of communication while developing the connective skills to build relationships and sustain success. Professional, playful, and with a talent for people-centric design, she offers an experiential approach towards learning and development.

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Middle & Upper School Faculty & Administrators

The current emergency, remote instruction situation has amplified teachers’ concerns about students’ cheating and plagiarizing, as well as parent over-assistance. We need to take clear, pedagogically sound steps to minimize their occurrence. Join us for a one-hour examination of why students cheat on their school work – some of which may surprise educators, as well as specific steps we can take to minimize that cheating. We’ll also include suggestions for a  school’s constructive response to cheating when it happens. Based on research at the secondary and university level and the presenter’s own work in schools around the nation and abroad, this session provides a solid foundation for school policy and practice regarding cheating and plagiarizing during this difficult time.

Rick Wormeli, one of the first National Board-Certified teachers in America, brings innovation and energy to his writing and instructional practices. He has spent the past 38 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history, as well as coaching teachers and principals. Wormeli’s work has been reported in numerous media outlets, including “Good Morning America” and National Geographic magazine. He is a columnist for AMLE Magazine, a contributor to ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and has presented in all 50 states and internationally.

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Middle & Upper School Faculty & Administrators

The principles of accurate, ethical grading don’t end with the movement to remote instruction. Given our diverse opinions about modern grading practices, however, and the stunning inequities among our students’ learning lives while learning from home, our schools need to take a breath and consider what all this means for grading at the end of our current school year as well as for the full year ahead. Join us for a provocative and practical one-hour look at what is ethical and doable when it comes to grading with online instruction, what compromises will need to be made, what cautions heeded, what principles and practices still hold up, and from what resources we can draw to resolve issues as they arise.      

Rick Wormeli, one of the first National Board-Certified teachers in America, brings innovation and energy to his writing and instructional practices. He has spent the past 38 years teaching math, science, English, physical education, health, and history, as well as coaching teachers and principals. Wormeli’s work has been reported in numerous media outlets, including “Good Morning America” and National Geographic magazine. He is a columnist for AMLE Magazine, a contributor to ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and has presented in all 50 states and internationally.

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 
 

Audience: School Nurses

All school nurses are invited to hear about the significantly evolving role of the school nurse during Covid-19.  Learn how to maintain your own physical, social and emotional health while also protecting the health of those at your school. Learn what some schools are currently exploring as they anticipate changing circumstances in the fall.  Consider your  “seat at the table” as your school leadership makes essential decisions regarding the start and continuation of learning in the new school year.  Ask questions and leave with resources to support your role as the health professional in your school.

Elizabeth Clark, MSN RN NCSN FNASN has over 25 years’ experience in school health services as a school nurse, and school nurse administrator. She has a Master of Science degree in the Nursing Care of Children, Colorado University Health Sciences Center. She has authored chapters in the School Nurse, Comprehensive Text, Third edition on funding and budgeting school health services and in Legal Resource for School Health Services on School Sponsored Before, After, and Extended School Year Programs. She currently serves as a Nursing Education and Practice Specialist for National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the Lead Nurse for the COVID19 Response documents.

Jan Brant, RN NCSN has over 27 years’ experience working as a school nurse and is completing her Master of Health Science Degree in School Health Education. She has worked at Park School of Baltimore, a school of 814 students PreK-12,for 24 years. Jan received the Outstanding Private, Parochial, and Independent School Nurse Award in 2018 and received the Liaison of the Year Award in 2019 from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses. She is the Chair of the Private, Independent, and Parochial School Nurses (PIPSN), a special interest group (SIG) of National Association of School Nurses (NASN). She is also the Maryland Co-Liaison of National Board of Certified School Nurses (NBCSN). In Maryland, she has formed a group of nurses from non-public schools who meet virtually every 2 weeks since COVID-19 started. There are over 100 nurses from Maryland and Washington DC on her Google Group forum.

Price: 
ISACS members: $25.00 
Nonmembers: $50.00 

Audience: Heads

This session will explore the key questions that heads will need to consider as the plan for Fall 2020. With an eye on strategic action and a lens attuned to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we will explore: Are you COVID-ready?  Are you recession ready? Are you election ready? Are you ready for the spotlight on anti-racism? Are you ready for the unknown (and we know it's coming!). With a spring that ramped up into a summer that keeps building, this will be an opportunity for Heads to hear about best practices in these lightning rod areas. 

Dr. Rodney Glasgow is head of school at Sandy Spring Friends School (MD). He serves on the board of trustees for Sheridan School and is also a trustee for The Bishop Walker School for Boys. He is chair of the National Association of Independent School’s annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference, a training ground drawing over 1800 high school students nationwide. In 2014, he launched the National Diversity Practitioners Institute, a highly respected training ground for school leaders run by his consortium of consultants known as The Glasgow Group.  Rodney is a featured writer in the book Diversity in Independent Schools and wrote the prologue for One Teacher in Ten in the New Millennium:  LGBT Educators Speak Out About What’s Gotten Better…And What Hasn’t and also has been published in the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s Think Differently and Deeply series. Rodney is a graduate of Harvard University with a joint degree in Afro-American Studies and Psychology, holds a Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership from Columbia University and a Doctorate of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. An experienced educator, trainer, and administrator, Rodney is also an independent school alum, having graduated from Gilman School in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Heads & Trustees

There is no doubt that the 2019-20 school year raised strategic questions for all of our schools that get at the heart of sustainability, marketability, best practices, and crisis management. If this summer is any indication, the 2020-21 school year also will have its challenges. As schools navigate social media call outs from alums of color, consider various scenarios for the opening of school and distance learning, prepare to engage thoughtfully in the upcoming Presidential election, safeguard budgets in preparation for a possible recession, and stay ready for the unknown, heads and boards must wrestle with how this could impact mission, vision, brand, and the long-term implications for the school. Let's wrestle together with some of the biggest questions facing independent schools today with an eye toward tomorrow. 

Dr. Rodney Glasgow is head of school at Sandy Spring Friends School (MD). He serves on the board of trustees for Sheridan School and is also a trustee for The Bishop Walker School for Boys. He is chair of the National Association of Independent School’s annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference, a training ground drawing over 1800 high school students nationwide. In 2014, he launched the National Diversity Practitioners Institute, a highly respected training ground for school leaders run by his consortium of consultants known as The Glasgow Group.  Rodney is a featured writer in the book Diversity in Independent Schools and wrote the prologue for One Teacher in Ten in the New Millennium:  LGBT Educators Speak Out About What’s Gotten Better…And What Hasn’t and also has been published in the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s Think Differently and Deeply series. Rodney is a graduate of Harvard University with a joint degree in Afro-American Studies and Psychology, holds a Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership from Columbia University and a Doctorate of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. An experienced educator, trainer, and administrator, Rodney is also an independent school alum, having graduated from Gilman School in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. 

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00 

Audience: Faculty & Administrators

This session will cover a myriad of issues related to instruction during a pandemic both in terms of remote learning and the return to in-person instruction. Topics related to remote learning issues include addressing confidentiality concerns, protecting student data privacy, maintaining appropriate digital security, recording of lessons and student record implications, staff/student boundary issues, student discipline in a virtual setting, and providing accommodations to students who have learning differences remotely. In regard to return to in-person instruction, the session will cover health and safety protocols in regard to health certifications prior to arrival at school, requirements to wear face coverings and observe social distancing, how to respond to requests for employee accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or leave under the Families First Coronavirus Cares Act, and considerations regarding waivers of liability for parents and students.

Dana Fattore Crumley, Partner, Franczek PC­ speaks on education law topics, including teacher employment and dismissal, special education, student records and confidentiality, and student discipline. She has taught school law classes at Loyola University's Graduate School of Education, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Roosevelt University. Prior to joining the firm, Crumley was a public school teacher. She served as a school board member and school board president of the Winnetka Public Schools District 36 Board of Education. She is a member of the National and Illinois' Councils of School Attorneys and is a founding member of the Women's Network of School Administrators, an organization devoted to promoting educational leadership opportunities for women.

Price: 
ISACS members: $50.00 
Nonmembers: $75.00

Audience: Heads, Associate Heads, Division Heads & School Leaders

It’s not an easy time to lead a school. You’ve spent the summer planning complex logistics to re-open campus, even as medical guidance and government mandates continued to be in flux. For many schools, students and teachers may already be back on campus or will be returning to school in the next two weeks. The challenge of re-opening campus isn’t only logistical or epidemiological – it’s emotional and affective. Leaders need to share inherently imperfect plans while making the emotional case for the path forward. They need to reassure anxious constituents, even while they can’t offer certainty or a risk-free path forward. Finally, they need to be aware of their leadership presence and the ways it shifts under emotional pressure. In this session, we will explore some of the dynamics at work in the reactions of families and faculty as you manage all of the plans you have made for next year and how they play out at an organizational level. We’ll unpack how leaders often get stuck in unhelpful reactive patterns when they encounter reluctance or resistance. Finally, we’ll offer some tactics to engage constructively with faculty reluctant to return to campus in an uncertain time. This webinar is an opportunity for heads of school, division directors, and other school leaders to get out of the weeds and think big picture about supporting their communities through change and supporting the well-being of all.

Greg Bamford is a co-founder and senior partner at Leadership and Design, a non-profit organization that supports schools in making the shift to their futures. Bamford also has served associate head of school for strategy and innovation at Charles Wright Academy (WA) and as head of school at the innovative Watershed School (CO). He is a co-founder of the Traverse Conference, a national conference on experiential and place-based learning, and is a board member at his alma mater, The Overlake School (WA). Bamford brings a strategic lens to leadership development, innovation, and change management and is passionate about building leadership capacity and the cultural muscle to enact change. He has been a featured conference speaker, consulted with a wide range of schools, and written for publications such as Independent School, Net Assets, and The Yield. You can find him on Twitter at @gregbamford.

Price: 
ISACS members: $25.00 
Nonmembers: $50.00 

Registered schools will receive a link to the recording,
which will be available until October 30, 2020.